Indy mother claims she lived with raw sewage in her apartment for more than two years

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis mother who dealt with a recurring sewage problem that left human feces and other waste in her apartment multiple times over a two year period says it took management more than half of a dozen visits from the health department to finally move her to a new apartment.

The woman, who didn't want her name used, said she’s lived at Amber Woods Apartments near 38th Street and Mitthoeffer Road for more than two years, and the problem has been a non-stop issue since she moved in.

“Human feces from my other neighbors and from what they were putting in their toilets,” said the woman. “I just think that’s disgusting. That should never happen. No one should ever live like that, especially when I have children.”

The woman says she’s complained to her management numerous times, and she even got the Marion County Health Department involved, but the issue kept reappearing.

“I was sleeping overnight with sewage in my house. It was literally just everywhere. Smell, flooding, my shoes destroyed, my personal belongings destroyed. It should never get to that point,” she said.

Records show that the Marion County Health Department cited Amber Woods Apartments for that specific unit three times in 2017 for “waste pipes not properly maintained in good sanitary working condition” and “sewage on flooring, in yard and belongings.”

They also returned four times in 2018 for the same apartment and same issues.

“There would be build-up outside the apartment, so now it was feces, feminine products, mice,” said the woman.

Flaherty and Collins manage the Section 8 housing complex. They blame the sewage problem on a faulty pipe that would cause back-up but say that after each complaint they thought the problem was fixed – until it happened again.

“Everything they did, it would never work,” said the woman. “It never worked.”

The apartment management has since moved the woman out of her unit and into a different one.

They say they’re planning to rehab more than 200 older units in the next month, which they believe will eliminate the sewage issues so that no one else has that unsanitary problem in the future.

If you’re having a problem with your apartment, the Marion County Health Department suggests talking to your management first. If you cannot get the issue resolved that way; you can call 317-221-2141 to make a housing complaint.